Escape Serena's Journey
by aloof elf princess
Summary: Set just after the film FOTR came out. Story of a girl who visits Middle Earth, but NOT the same old story...


**Escape - Serena's Journey**

Disclaimer: Anything to do with LOTR is not mine. The West family belong to me, and nothing else.

The world darkened, and a high, reedy voice began singing. Serena didn't know where she was for a moment; she was completely disorientated. Then it all came back to her - she was at the cinema. The last two and a half hours of her life had been spent in an entirely different world. She had been immersed in the fictional world of Middle Earth, watching, enthralled, the adventures being played out on the screen in front of her. It was almost hard to tear herself back into her own world, so deeply mesmerised had she been. When her friend, Sarah, said something to her, she could only nod absentmindedly, and on the journey home on the bus, her head was filled with noble elves and gruff dwarves, innocent hobbits and foul orcs, and whirling with tales of a dark lord striving to conquer a world, and a powerful ring. But above all of this, one face stood out, a heroic yet tragic man, struggling to overcome the shadow that clouded his past. She couldn't recall his name, only his face, which bore a striking similarity to the way she'd always imagined Jesus would look.

            Not that she was particularly religious, she reflected, she had always gone to church with her parents, but she often felt that was merely to salve their consciences. No, she didn't believe in any God, how could she, after asking her RE teacher if God had….manly parts? She stifled a giggle, remembering Mrs Jefferies' face as she struggled to find a diplomatic answer. But then the man's face returned, and all other thoughts were banished.

            Waving goodbye to Sarah, she stepped off the bus at her stop, still completely absorbed in the world of The Fellowship Of The Ring. She let herself in to her house, and on her way to her parent's room to search for the Lord Of The Rings books she suspected lurked in the bookcase, when she was taken aback by her mum coming out of the room.

            "Enjoy the film, darling? Hold on a minute, I've got some washing for you to put away…" was her mum's greeting. Serena followed her mum into the room.

            "Yeah, it was good, what are you doing here?" Her mum handed her a pile of neatly ironed washing.

            "That's a nice way to greet me! I suppose they thought, as it's nearly Christmas, they'd give us some decent holidays this year, anyway, the short and short of it is I've got until the 4th of January off  work!" 

            "That's nice," grunted Serena from behind the pile of clean clothes.

"So, I'm just off to pick up your brother, I won't be long!" Mrs West kissed her daughter on the top of the head, and grabbed her car keys off the chest of drawers. 

 "Bye!" Serena started, remembering what she'd been looking for.

            "Mum, do you have Lord Of The Rings?"

            "I should think so, try the bookcase, but it's awfully wordy! I couldn't get into a book like that! Anyway, I may end up talking to Sandra for a while, so if I'm not back by 6:00, be a dear and put the tea on? Thanks!" She swept out the door. Serena trudged along to her room, dumped the clothes on her bed, and went back to her parent's room. She knelt in front of the ancient wooden bookcase, inherited from some great-great-great grandparent's house, or something ridiculous like that, and searched for The Lord Of The Rings. Eventually her eyes lit upon a tatty, overlarge book in the corner of the bookshelves. Serena took out the old volume, thinking that it must be the original copy, such was its age and condition. It had probably been handed down from parents to children for at least three generations, she thought - the West family were hoarders, an excuse she used many a time when ordered to clear out her bedroom. Glancing at the clock, she saw she had at least half an hour of guaranteed peace and quiet to read the book - her mother would be talking to Sandra Abercrombie, her brother's friend' mum, for at least twenty minutes, and her dad was in Sweden for a business trip. She padded along to her room, and sat down by the radiator ready to revisit the land of Middle Earth.  

            Serena West was fourteen. She was a keen reader, and enjoyed films and plays. She liked to watch dramas, but as she herself was quite shy, she preferred to watch rather than take part. She was quite good looking, although she herself didn't think so. She had almost jet-black hair, green eyes and an olive complexion. She had a brace and wore glasses for reading, which didn't help improve her natural timidity. She lived what she considered to be a bog-standard life, living with her mum, little brother and often absent dad. She was in her third year at Monroeville High School, the local Comprehensive. She was quite academic, she wasn't especially athletic, but she was a dancer, attending ballet and jazz classes, she thought there was nothing in particular to make her stand out in a crowd. 

            Keys rattled in the front door, then her mum called out, "Serena, we're back! Sorry we took so long, Sandra wanted to show me her new conservatory. Is the tea on?" Serena started, consciously dragging herself out of Middle Earth. She looked at her watch, wincing at the time, then called back, "No, sorry, I got distracted…" She dashed down the stairs to the kitchen, where her mum was bustling about, gently berating her.

            "The one thing I ask her to do…" Serena hovered in the doorway. 

            "Sorry, mum." Jane West sighed.

            "Never mind, I've got it in now, tea in half an hour, ok?" Serena nodded. Back to Lord Of The Rings…

            Serena stuffed down her tea, aimlessly surfed the Internet for half an hour, then couldn't hold off for any longer.

            "I'm just going to go for a bath, mum, with a book…" she informed her mum.

            "Check the hot water's on, first, do you want some hot chocolate?" But the sound of running water announced Serena's departure.

            The water was piping hot as Serena clambered into the bath clutching the book. She lay back, ready to get thoroughly engrossed…

            The man was waiting, cloaked and hooded. Serena couldn't make out his face in the gloom. He hadn't noticed her. She looked around to find out where she was, and found herself in a smoky pub, filled with moustachioed men, swigging ale. A barman was bustling around, filling flagons with beer and joking with his patrons. Everything seemed quite…old, for want of a better word. It seemed to be a rural place, filled by men who spent their days working and nurturing the land. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew this, but now that she thought of it, it was obvious. A fire was almost burnt to its embers in the grate, and the darkness was slowly claiming the room. Serena guessed it must be nearly closing time. She turned to survey the waiting man again. A pipe protruded from his lip, under the shadows cast by his hood. He was obviously hoping not to be recognised. She could barely see him now, it was getting darker. Why no-one had reacted to her appearance yet, she didn't know. It seemed as if she had been there for a while. Suddenly, a commotion broke out behind her. She spun round to see what was happening, and the scene began to dissolve…  

 A/N: Okay, this is an idea I'm kind of playing around with, so I don't know what's going to happen. I'd really appreciate feedback, positive or negative, as to whether I should continue with this. Thanks!


End file.
